The reaction among Republican candidates running for Senate to President Obama's nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court Monday was in many cases tailored closely to the politics of their own state and offered clues to where the selection might become a driving issue.

Some candidates quickly announced their concerns. Others kept quiet to avoid giving their opponents a new line of attack. The reactions of many Republicans competing in blue states was strikingly more measured than those running in redder ones.

Fiorina, who is trailing the more socially moderate Tom Campbell in the California GOP Senate primary, said she had serious concerns about Kagan's past record, but held off on unleashing a final verdict. "While I will reserve judgment as to whether or not I will support Ms. Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court until the public vetting and confirmation process has been completed, I do find some of the available information about her past record troubling," she said, pointing to Kagan's decision to keep military recruiters off Harvard's campus.

Lamontagne, a fiery social conservative battling two more moderate opponents in his Senate primary in New Hampshire, announced immediate opposition to the solicitor general's appointment.

"I am announcing my opposition to the president's nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court today for many of the reasons I opposed the nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor: a lack of proven commitment to the Constitution or the principle judicial restraint, and a failure to differentiate between her view of the law and her personal political positions. In addition, Ms. Kagan is one of least experienced nominees we have seen in decades," Lamontagne said.

The frontrunner in the race, former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, had not issued a statement as of late Monday afternoon, but the likely Democratic nominee clearly tried to remind the Granite State's conservative base of her comments earlier this year about Obama's first selection to the high court..

"Earlier this year, my Republican opponent, Kelly Ayotte, and I joined together to support Justice (Sonia) Sotomayor. I hope this can set an example for the kind of effective, bipartisan cooperation this country needs to send President Obama's highly-qualified pick to the US Supreme Court," said Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.).

"I look forward to the hearings and learning more about Solicitor General Elena Kagan's judicial philosophy. I am hopeful that she will make clear that she will not legislate from the Bench and will instead be guided by the Constitution," said Portman.

Former Rep. Rob Simmons, running in a Senate primary in Connecticut, also leveled criticism without making any promises.

"While I am deeply concerned with Ms. Kagan's decision to refuse to allow military recruiters on campus as dean of Harvard Law School, she will have ample opportunity to explain her views on the Solomon Amendment and the wide array of constitutional issues she would face as a justice," Simmons said.

Meanwhile in Illinois, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) joined Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias in challenging Kirk to take "a firm position" on Kagan. They called Kirk's opposition to Sotomayor "inexplicable and out of touch," and suggested that his opposition came from "a desire to appeal to the right-wing fringe."

Kirk's campaign said while they did not initially send out a statement, the candidate did reference the selection in a speech at the City Club of Chicago.

"Because this is a lifetime appointment to our country's highest court, I will carefully review Ms. Kagan's writings and watch her upcoming confirmation hearings. We should take a thoughtful, judicious approach to any Supreme Court nomination" said Kirk in a statement provided by the campaign after a request from POLITICO.